Nestor wins railroad contract

PROVIDENCE (BUSINESS WIRE) — Nestor Traffic Systems, Inc., an affiliate of Nestor, Inc. today said that the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has awarded a contract to the company for the development and testing of a portable grade crossing monitoring system. The system will be a portable version of the company’s Rail CrossingGuard®, an intelligent video-based system that uses advanced image processing technology to automate video monitoring and surveillance of highway-rail grade crossings. From the surveillance video images, Rail CrossingGuard extracts crossing status and operation information that can help agencies to understand vehicle and train activity at each crossing as well as the operational status of crossing equipment (lights, gates, signals, etc.). The portable Rail CrossingGuard system represents the continuation of joint collaboration between Nestor Traffic Systems and the FRA’s Next Generation High Speed Rail Corridor Program to apply advanced technology to improving safety at highway rail grade crossings. Rail CrossingGuard assists officials in assessing the safety and efficiency of highway/rail grade crossings – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Its video-based monitoring capabilities allow the system to collect data on vehicle flow, crossing usage and train volume, as well as crossing signal violations, stopped vehicles, and gate activation information. With this information, agencies can measure crossing risk and make the necessary modifications to improve efficiency and overall safety of each crossing.